II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3944 

To establish the William S. Knudsen Commission for American DefenseIndustrial Mobilization, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 14, 2024 

Mr. VANCE (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. SCHMITT, Mr. HAWLEY, and Mr. 

COTTON) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To establish the William S. Knudsen Commission for American Defense-Industrial Mobilization, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘William S. Knudsen 

5 Defense Remobilization Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) The United States faces a critical lack of 

9 domestic industrial capacity necessary to support 


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1 and maintain its defense, particularly in the event of 

2 a major conflict. 

3 (2) Current and building shortages of muni4 tions and materiel are estimated to require years to 

5 replenish sufficiently. 

6 (3) The domestic industrial base is shaped by 

7 Federal Government policies, including by a raft of 

8 regulations that often inhibit production and expan9 sion. 

10 (4) The lack of industrial capacity now con11 stituted a major threat to the national security as 

12 conflicts supplied with United States arms escalate 

13 around the globe and imminent threats to United 

14 States interests have emerged. 

15 (5) Before entering World War II, the United 

16 States faced a similar crisis of adequate defense pro17 duction as it supplied its allies in Europe and pre18 pared for the event of war. 

19 (6) In 1940, William S. Knudsen, an American 

20 automotive executive, was tasked with coordinating 

21 and spearheading the nation’s war production by 

22 serving as the chairman of the Office of Production 

23 Management and as a member of the National De24 fense Advisory Commission. 


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1 (7) As a result of Mr. Knudsen’s efforts, the 

2 United States mobilized an unprecedented industrial 

3 war production network, renowned as the ‘‘Arsenal 

4 of Democracy,’’ that enabled Allied victory. 

5 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WILLIAM S. KNUDSEN 

6 COMMISSION FOR AMERICAN DEFENSE-IN7 DUSTRIAL MOBILIZATION. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

9 legislative branch the William S. Knudsen Commission for 

10 American Defense-Industrial Mobilization (referred to in 

11 this Act as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

12 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Commission is to 

13 examine and make recommendations to the President and 

14 Congress with respect to the defense-industrial base of the 

15 United States. 

16 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

17 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be 

18 composed of 12 members of whom— 

19 (A) 1 member shall be appointed by the 

20 majority leader of the Senate; 

21 (B) 1 member shall be appointed by the 

22 minority leader of the Senate; 

23 (C) 1 member shall be appointed by the 

24 Speaker of the House of Representatives; 


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1 (D) 1 member shall be appointed by the 

2 minority leader of the House of Representa3 tives; 

4 (E) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

5 chair of the Committee on Armed Services of 

6 the Senate; 

7 (F) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

8 ranking minority member of the Committee on 

9 Armed Services of the Senate; 

10 (G) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

11 chair of the Committee on Armed Services of 

12 the House of Representatives; and 

13 (H) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

14 ranking minority member of the Committee on 

15 Armed Services of the House of Representa16 tives. 

17 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—the members appointed 

18 under paragraph (1) shall be from among individ19 uals who— 

20 (A) are United States citizens; and 

21 (B) have significant professional experience 

22 or expertise in— 

23 (i) the manufacturing sector; 

24 (ii) defense procurement; 


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1 (iii) defense technology and innova2 tion; and 

3 (iv) industrial policy. 

4 (3) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—All members of the 

6 Commission shall be appointed under paragraph 

7 (1) not later than 45 days after the date of the 

8 enactment of this Act. 

9 (B) EFFECT OF LACK OF APPOINTMENTS

10 BY APPOINTMENT DATE.—If one or more ap11 pointments under paragraph (1) is not made by 

12 the date specified in subparagraph (A)— 

13 (i) the authority to make such ap14 pointment or appointments shall expire; 

15 and 

16 (ii) the number of members of the 

17 Commission shall be reduced by the num18 ber of appointments not made by that 

19 date. 

20 (4) CHAIR; VICE CHAIR.— 

21 (A) CHAIR.—The chairs of the appropriate 

22 congressional committees shall jointly designate 

23 one member of the Commission to serve as 

24 chair of the Commission. 


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1 (B) VICE CHAIR.—The ranking minority 

2 members of the appropriate congressional com3 mittees shall jointly designate one member of 

4 the Commission to serve as vice chair of the 

5 Commission. 

6 (5) MEETINGS.— 

7 (A) INITIAL MEETING.—The Commission 

8 shall hold the first meeting as soon as practicable after 2 9 ⁄3 of the members of the Commis10 sion have been appointed under paragraph (1). 

11 (B) SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS.—After its 

12 initial meeting, the Commission shall meet upon 

13 the call of the chair or a majority of its mem14 bers. 

15 (6) QUORUM.—Eight members of the Commis16 sion shall constitute a quorum for purposes of con17 ducting business. 

18 (7) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.— 

19 Members of the Commission shall be appointed for 

20 the life of the Commission. A vacancy in the Com21 mission does not affect the powers of the Commis22 sion and shall (except as provided by paragraph 

23 (3)(B)) be filled in the same manner in which the 

24 original appointment was made. 

25 (8) REMOVAL OF MEMBERS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Com2 mission may be removed from the Commission 

3 for cause by the individual serving in the posi4 tion responsible for the original appointment of 

5 the member under paragraph (1), provided that 

6 notice is first provided to that official of the 

7 cause for removal, and removal is voted and 

agreed upon by 3 8 ⁄4 of the members of the Com9 mission. 

10 (B) VACANCIES.—A vacancy created by 

11 the removal of a member of the Commission 

12 under subparagraph (A) does not affect the 

13 powers of the Commission and shall be filled in 

14 the same manner in which the original appoint15 ment was made. 

16 (d) DUTIES.— 

17 (1) REVIEW.—The Commission shall conduct a 

18 review of the defense industrial base of the United 

19 States, including an assessment of the production 

20 requirements necessary to wage a major war across 

21 multiple theaters. 

22 (2) ASSESSMENT.—The Commission shall as23 sess the following: 

24 (A) Lessons learned from the experience of 

25 major war in Ukraine, including a classified 


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1 annex addressed to whether current operational 

2 plans for major war contingency scenarios in 

3 Europe, the Middle East, and Asia give due 

4 consideration to the lessons learned from that 

5 and other recent conflicts around the world. 

6 (B) The expected defense production re7 quirements necessary to wage a major war 

8 across one or more theaters, with attention to 

9 minimum production requirements, ordinary 

10 production requirements, and requirements in 

11 order to scale production quickly and at need. 

12 (C) Identification and establishment of 

13 minimum and optimal production and stocks of 

14 key, critical weapons systems and associated 

15 munitions production and maintenance capacity 

16 indexed against operational planning for major 

17 war in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. 

18 (D) The current, standing capacity of the 

19 United States defense industrial base to 

20 produce weapons systems, ammunition, and 

21 other necessary supplies and maintenance nec22 essary for different major war contingency sce23 narios, including sub-tier contracting, with a 

24 view to identifying supply chain bottlenecks, ob25 stacles to competition, and requirements for the 


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1 conversion of civilian commercial facilities to de2 fense production in a national emergency. 

3 (E) The policies and programs of the Fed4 eral Government that affect domestic industrial 

5 capacity that is or can be used for defense pro6 duction. 

7 (F) The burden imposed on different sec8 tors within the defense industrial base as a re9 sult of regulations issued by— 

10 (i) the Department of Energy; 

11 (ii) the Environmental Protection 

12 Agency; 

13 (iii) the Department of Commerce; 

14 (iv) the Department of Defense; and 

15 (v) the Small Business Administra16 tion. 

17 (3) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commission 

18 shall make recommendations with respect to the fol19 lowing matters: 

20 (A) Reforms to operational planning and 

21 defense procurement planning with a view to 

22 ensuring United States contingency plans— 

23 (i) are well suited to likely contin24 gency scenarios; 


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1 (ii) reflect the lessons learned from re2 cent wars to include Russia’s war in 

3 Ukraine; and 

4 (iii) reflect the correct balance of new 

5 and legacy technology to provide the 

6 United States the greatest possible oper7 ational advantage in future contingency 

8 operations. 

9 (B) Reforms to existing Federal programs 

10 and policies related to defense production, pro11 curement, and innovation. 

12 (C) Federal regulations that inhibit de13 fense production and innovation and their esti14 mated burden to producers, including regula15 tions issued by— 

16 (i) the Department of Energy; 

17 (ii) the Environmental Protection 

18 Agency; 

19 (iii) the Department of Commerce; 

20 and 

21 (iv) the Department of Defense. 

22 (D) Funding levels necessary to support 

23 increased domestic industrial capacity. 

24 (E) New Federal policies, programs, and 

25 offices that can support a defense-industrial 


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1 mobilization and increased domestic industrial 

2 capacity. 

3 (e) REPORT AND BRIEFING REQUIRED.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

6 Commission shall submit to the President and the 

7 appropriate congressional committees a report on 

8 the Commission’s findings, conclusions, and rec9 ommendations. 

10 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required under 

11 paragraph (1) shall include— 

12 (A) a proposed strategy for increasing the 

13 industrial capacity of the United States for de14 fense production; 

15 (B) the assessment required by subsection 

16 (d)(2); 

17 (C) the recommendations required by sub18 section (d)(3); and 

19 (D) considerations for policymakers, in20 cluding members and committees of Congress. 

21 (3) INTERIM BRIEFING.—Not later than 180 

22 days after the deadline for appointment of members 

23 of the Commission specified in subsection (c)(3)(A), 

24 the Commission shall provide to the appropriate con25 gressional committees a briefing on the status of the 


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1 review, assessments, and recommendations required 

2 by subsection (d), including a discussion of any in3 terim recommendations. 

4 (f) ADVICE AND INPUT.—The Committee shall seek 

5 the advise and input of industry partners, manufacturing 

6 policy experts, State and local development officials, and 

7 manufacturing worker interests when performing the du8 ties described in subsection (d) and producing the report 

9 required under subsection (e), including by— 

10 (1) holding not less than 4 public hearings per 

11 year during which industry representatives, worker 

12 groups, and regional representatives can provide in13 sight regarding the current state of the defense-in14 dustrial base and the requirements for its full mobi15 lization; and 

16 (2) establishing an Industry Advisory Board of 

17 not more than 10 members appointed by the chair, 

18 which shall include— 

19 (A) an expert industrial competitiveness 

20 and national security; 

21 (B) a manufacturing trade association rep22 resentative; 

23 (C) a representative of small business gov24 ernment contractors; 


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1 (D) a manufacturing worker representa2 tive; 

3 (E) a representative from a private invest4 ment firm investing in the defense and indus5 trial sectors; and 

6 (F) such other representatives as the chair 

7 may appoint. 

8 (g) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

9 (1) INFORMATION AND SUGGESTIONS.—The 

10 Commission may secure directly from the Depart11 ment of Defense, the Department of Energy, the 

12 Department of Commerce, the Environmental Pro13 tection Agency, the Small Business Administration, 

14 the Department of the Treasury, and the United 

15 States Trade Representative information, sugges16 tions, estimates, and statistics for the purposes of 

17 this section. Each such agency shall, to the extent 

18 authorized by law, furnish such information, sugges19 tions, estimates, and statistics directly to the Com20 mission upon receiving a request made by— 

21 (A) the chair of the Commission; 

22 (B) the chair of any subcommittee of the 

23 Commission created by a majority of members 

24 of the Commission; or 


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1 (C) any member the Commission des2 ignated by a majority of the Commission for 

3 purposes of making requests under this para4 graph. 

5 (2) ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE.—Departments 

6 and agencies of the United States may provide to 

7 the Commission such services, funds, facilities, staff, 

8 and other support services as those departments and 

9 agencies may determine advisable and as may be au10 thorized by law. 

11 (h) COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.— 

12 (1) STATUS AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—Not13 withstanding the requirements of section 2105 of 

14 title 5, United States Code, including the require15 ments relating to supervision under subsection 

16 (a)(3) of such section, the members of the Commis17 sion shall be deemed to be Federal employees. 

18 (2) COMPENSATION.—Each member of the 

19 Commission may be compensated at not to exceed 

20 the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay 

21 in effect for a position at level IV of the Executive 

22 Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 

23 States Code, for each day during which that member 

24 is engages in the actual performance of the duties 

25 of the Commission. 


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1 (3) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—While away from 

2 their homes or regular places of business in the per3 formance of services for the Commission, members 

4 of the Commission shall be allowed travel expenses, 

5 including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the 

6 same manner as persons employed intermittently in 

7 the Government service are allowed expenses under 

8 section 5703 of title 5, United States Code. 

9 (i) STAFF.— 

10 (1) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Commission 

11 shall appoint and fix the rate of basic pay for an Ex12 ecutive Director in accordance with section 3161 of 

13 title 5, United States Code. 

14 (2) PAY.—The Executive Director appointed 

15 under paragraph (1) may, with the approval of the 

16 Commission, appoint and fix the rate of basic pay 

17 for additional personnel as staff of the Commission 

18 in accordance with section 3161(d) of title 5, United 

19 States Code. 

20 (j) PERSONAL SERVICES.— 

21 (1) AUTHORITY TO PROCURE.—The Commis22 sion may— 

23 (A) procure the services of experts or con24 sultants (or of organizations of experts or conVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:44 Mar 27, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3944.IS S3944

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1 sultants) in accordance with the provisions of 

2 section 3109 of title 5, United States Code; and 

3 (B) pay in connection with such services 

4 travel expenses of individuals, including trans5 portation and per diem in lieu of subsistence, 

6 while such individuals are traveling from their 

7 homes or places of business to duty stations. 

8 (2) MAXIMUM DAILY PAY RATES.—The daily 

9 rate paid an expert or consultant procured pursuant 

10 to paragraph (1) may not exceed the daily equivalent 

11 of the annual rate of basic pay in effect for a posi12 tion at level IV of the Executive Schedule under sec13 tion 5315 of title 5, United States Code. 

14 (k) CONTRACTING AUTHORITY.—The Commission 

15 may acquire administrative supplies and equipment for 

16 Commission use to the extent funds are available. 

17 (l) AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT GIFTS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may ac19 cept, sue, and dispose of gifts or donations of serv20 ices, goods, and property from non-Federal entities 

21 for the purposes of aiding and facilitating the work 

22 of the Commission. The authority under this para23 graph does not extend to gifts of money. 

24 (2) DOCUMENTATION; CONFLICTS OF INTER25 EST.—The Commission shall document gifts acceptVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:44 Mar 27, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3944.IS S3944

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1 ed under the authority provided by paragraph (1) 

2 and shall avoid conflicts of interest or the appear3 ance of conflicts of interest. 

4 (3) COMPLIANCE WITH CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS

5 RULES.—Except as specifically provided in this sec6 tion, a member of the Commission shall comply with 

7 rules set forth by the Select Committee on Ethics of 

8 the Senate and the Committee on Ethics of the 

9 House of Representative governing employees of the 

10 Senate and the House of Representatives, respec11 tively. 

12 (m) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 

13 the United States mails in the same manner and under 

14 the same conditions as departments and agencies of the 

15 United States. 

16 (n) COMMISSION SUPPORT.—Not later than 60 days 

17 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

18 of Defense shall seek to enter into a contract with a feder19 ally funded research and development center to provide 

20 appropriate staff and administrative support for the ac21 tivities of the Commission. 

22 (o) EXPEDITION OF SECURITY CLEARANCES.—The 

23 Office of Senate Security and the Office of House Security 

24 shall ensure the expedited processing of appropriate secu25 rity clearances for personnel appointed to the Commission 


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1 by offices of the Senate and House of Representatives, re2 spectively, under processes developed for the clearance of 

3 legislative branch employees. 

4 (p) LEGISLATIVE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The 

5 Commission shall operate as a legislative advisory com6 mittee and shall not be subject to the provisions of the 

7 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

8 (q) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be appro9 priated $7,000,000 for the Commission to carry out activi10 ties under this Act. Such funds shall remain available until 

11 expended. 

12 (r) TERMINATION.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall termi14 nate on the date that is 90 days after the Commis15 sion submits the final report required by subsection 

16 (e). 

17 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS BEFORE TERMI18 NATION.—The Commission may use the 90-day pe19 riod described in paragraph (1) for the purpose of 

20 concluding its activities, including providing testi21 mony to committees of Congress with respect to and 

22 disseminating the report required by subsection (e). 

23 (s) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE24 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congres25 sional committees’’ means— 


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1 (1) the Committee on Armed Services of the 

2 Senate; and 

3 (2) the Committee on Armed Services of the 

4 House of Representatives. 

Æ 


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